The 10-minute ride to the top of Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is quite an exhilarating experience. To begin with, the recorded commentary tells you that in terms of climate, the increase in elevation of 5,873 feet is the equivalent of driving from Mexico to Alaska. But it’s a lot less tiring.

The tramway was the dream of one man, Francis Crocker; but even back in 1935, when the idea first occurred to him, there were bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.

Having endured a particularly hot day while traveling to Banning, Crocker looked at the snow-capped peak of San Jacinto and though how wonderful it would be to be able to go up there to cool off.

His dream was soon nicknamed “Crocker’s Folly,” but today it serves thousands of locals and visitors alike.

Plans were drawn up to build the facility, but Crocker ran into several political problems. Then World War II intervened; Crocker had to wait until 1945 before a new tram bill was passed and Gov. Earl Warren signed the measure that created the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority.

Crocker became the first secretary of the project and by 1950, technicians were moving ahead with designs for the tramway, spending $250,000 on the riddles of road and tower construction.

Riding up the steep slopes of Chino Canyon, it’s easy to see that any construction would have been very difficult with huge granite boulders at every turn plus the extreme grade.

The problem was solved by the use of helicopters. They were the principal tools in the construction of the five steel towers that support the cable. They flew 23,000 trips without a mishap in ferrying materials to the towers. The first one of these can be reached by road, but the rest are isolated on the canyon floor.

No public funds were used in the construction; the $8.15 million cost was raised by private revenue bonds. These bonds were finally paid off in 1996.

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The Korean War caused yet another delay, but by 1961, it was possible to see how the cable car project was to work.

Since the tramway opened in 1963, there have been more than 13 million riders — quite a success.

In technical terms, the project is called a double reversible aerial tramway, also known as a jig-back tramway. There are two tram cars attached to the circular cable and they act as counterweights to each other — as one goes up, the other comes down.

In addition, the cars’ floors rotate twice on each trip allowing passengers to get a 360-degree view of both the Coachella Valley and the mountainside itself.

At 16 miles per hour, it seems very fast when the car gets close to the granite, and there is a rocking motion when the car passes the towers. The highest of these is the most noticeable; I suggest hanging on to the rails provided.

Once at the top, there are a number of options to keep you occupied. First you will notice a considerable temperature drop. In mid-March when I went, down below it was 65 degrees and at the top we had dropped to 45. If the wind is blowing, you’ll feel quite cold. In the summer, the change can be as great as 40 degrees.

There are miles of trails, and also two restaurants to feed you. But the best treat of all is the spectacular view of the desert townships spread out below. On a clear day you can see as far as the Salton Sea.

On the return trip, it’s hard to ignore Crocker’s resoluteness of sticking to his plans to ride up where it was “nice and cool.” It took close to 30 years.